Hand Grip Strength Profiles in Traditional Sumatran Communities: Demographic and Regional Influences

Abstract

The hand plays a vital role in performing daily tasks with precision, relying on the strength of the hand and forearm muscles. Hand grip strength is widely used as an indicator to assess upper limb muscle performance. Several factors, including daily activities, age, and sex, can influence grip strength. This study focuses on traditional Sumatran communities characterized by non-industrialized livelihoods and sustained manual labor, such as farming and plantation work. This provides a unique context for examining how a physically demanding lifestyle modulates natural trajectories of hand grip strength outside urban or clinical settings. This study aims to evaluate hand-grip strength in the Sumatran population. The research involved a literature review, obtaining informed consent, collecting demographic data, determining hand dominance, measuring grip strength using a dynamometer, conducting data analysis, and drawing conclusions. The results showed that peak hand grip strength for both males and females consistently occurred within the 20-29 age bracket. Significant differences were also found in right-hand grip strength. Linear model analysis revealed positive correlations with sex (P = 2 × 10^-4), handedness (P = 9.91 × 10^-6), income (P = 0.039), and specific regions: Central Lampung (P = 0.01), Way Kanan (P = 1.86 × 10^-13), and Simalungun (P = 0.01). The influence of income and regionality likely reflects differences in nutritional access and the intensity of manual labor inherent in traditional agricultural hubs. In contrast, the starting hand for measurement, age (as a linear variable), and jobs that involve passive hand use do not affect hand grip strength.